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IN MEMORIAM: 



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OF 



THOMAS STOKES 



BY 



JAMES S. DICKERSON, D.D. 



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NEW YORK 

1870. 



IN MEMORIAM. 



^HE moral dignity of the missionary enterprise 
invests with peculiar and sacred interest all 
the circumstances of its early origin, and all persons 
and events which have been vitally related to its 
subsequent history. Sufficient honor, perhaps, has 
been paid those illustrious names whose efforts and 
sacrifices have been conspicuously identified with 
the progress of this great movement of. the modern 
church. 

My object in this brief sketch, is to rescue the 
memory of one of those " veiled heroes " in the his- 
tory of missions, whose zeal, among the very first 
to be kindled, burned with a steady flame ; and 
whose influence was none the less providential 
and powerful because its field seemed to be more 



cfl 



CJ 6 AN EVENTFUL LIFE. 



circumscribed, and its methods more quiet and 
unobtrusive. And if to the design of making a 
humble contribution to the early history of missions, 
I unite a warm desire to honor the memory of one 
of my loved and venerated ancestors, the double 
motive will be none the less commended by the 
thoughtful and the good. 

AN EVENTFUL LIFE. 

Thomas Stokes, a deacon of the Mulberry-street 
Baptist Church, New York, died in that city, 
October 10, 1832, aged 67 }?ears, — closing a life of 
unusual Christian activity and eventfulness, in the 
full possession of all his mental faculties, and in 
calm and trustful reliance upon that Saviour by 
whose grace his life had been redeemed, and to 
whose service its best powers had been devoted. 
He left behind him a diary, kept during a portion of 
his lifetime, which, together with certain rare pam- 
phlets and other printed matter illustrating the more 
important events to which it refers, has supplied 
most of the materials used in this memorial sketch. 

The diary is prefaced with the remark that its 
author "was born in London in December, 1765, 



AN EVENTFUL LIFE. 



and r born again' in 1783." As the religious life of 
Mr. Stokes chiefly concerns us, and especially that 
part of it which was identified with early mission- 
ary history and efforts, we pass over the records of 
his youth, and notice that soon after he gave his 
heart to Jesus, he united himself with one of those 
bands of devoted Christians which had been led 
out from the Established Church of England by the 
active zeal and piety of Lady Huntingdon. After- 
wards it was his privilege for a number of years to 
worship with the church under the pastoral care 
of Rowland Hill, of Surry Chapel, London. This 
faithful and honored preacher organized his peo- 
ple for missionary and Christian work in a way 
quite unusual in his day. He selected a company 
of devoted Christian men, who, under his direction, 
and animated by the spirit of their indefatigable 
pastor, went everywhere through the lanes, alleys, 
and outskirts of the metropolis, doing true mis- 
sionary labor in its most destitute and neglected 
districts. Of this working band, Thomas Stokes 
appears to have been, at least, one of the most 
earnest and deeply interested. It was in Surry 
Chapel that Rowland Hill preached the celebrated 



D 



8 



AN EVENTFUL LIFE. 



missionary sermon on the occasion of the first 
general meeting of the London Missionary Society 
in September, 1795, from the text, "And this 
gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the 
world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall 
the end come;" and at the close of the first meeting 
of the London Missionary Society he pronounced 
the benediction with a solemn invocation of the 
blessing of God on its designs. He was one of its 
first Board of Managers ; was fervently attached 
to its interests ; and a zealous and effective pro- 
moter of all its noble and beneficent designs. It 
was also in the vestry of Surry Chapel that the 
proposition was first made that the islands of the 
South Sea should be the scene of the commence- 
ment of its efforts.* 

Mr. Stokes occupied a social position in Lon- 
don beset with the allurements of fashion, and 
exposed to the enticements of worldly society ; 
still the records of his every-day life, which have 
survived him in the diary which has been placed at 



* Newman Hall is the present pastor of Surry Chapel and carries 
out the original plans of Rowland Hill. 



c 

ESTABLISHMENT OF SUNDA Y SCHOOLS. 

our service, give the most delightful evidence that 
his chief enjoyments were found in the society and 
communion of the people of God, and in active 
endeavors to bless the world with the knowledge 
of Jesus. 

FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OF SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 

It is no slight honor to the subject of this sketch 
that he was associated with the now celebrated 
Robert Raikes in his earliest efforts to organize 
Sunday schools in the city of London and its 
suburbs. Converted to God in 1783, the very year 
in which Raikes published his first accounts of the 
establishment of village schools on the sabbath 
day for the religious instruction and training of the 
children of the poor, the enthusiasm and love of 
this young disciple were easily won to the novel 
and inspiring movement. When the attempt was 
made to plant these schools in London, he gave to 
the design his hearty indorsement and his active 
co-operation. To him belongs a share, at least, of 
that honor and praise which have been gratefully 
awarded those whose arduous and self-sacrificing 
labors were blessed during the first five years of 



& 



c 

IO DAWN OF MODERN MISSIONS. 

Sunday-school effort, in bringing a quarter of a 
million of England's most neglected children 
under the gentle and saving influences of sabbath 
instruction. 

THE DAWN OF MODERN MISSIONS. 

There is no portion of this simple and unaffected 
diary which is so full of intense interest to the 
Christian reader, or which reflects so hallowed a 
light over the character, spirit, and life of him who 
in the privacy of his devotional hours penned it, as 
that which refers to the very inception and infancy 
of the modern missionary enterprise, and to the 
circumstances which led to the formation of that 
venerable and God-honored instrumentality, — the 
London Missionary Society. 

The solemn utterances of William Carey in 
1 79 1 respecting the moral accountability of the 
heathen, and the duty of enlightened Christians to 
labor for their salvation, had fallen on the ear of 
a slumbering church like the awakening voice 
of a prophet. As early as 1792, over the whole 
United Kingdom there seemed to be felt a new 
and an intense anxiety for the conversion of the 

C 



CZ3ZZ =XZD 

CJ DA WN OF MODERN MISSIONS. 1 1 b 

idolatrous millions of the East. Christians of every 
name, and everywhere, simultaneously arose at the 
call of the Master. We know of no more impres- 
sive argument for the supernatural origin, unity, 
and forces of the kingdom of Christ than this 
sudden and general uprising. Nothing less than 
a stroke commanded and inspired by the Holy 
One could have evoked this outgush of mission- 
ary impulse and devotion from the hitherto rocky 
insensibility of a faithless church. Already these 
" streams in the desert " were gathering available 
force and volume in the organization of the Baptist 
Missionary Society of England, Oct. 2, 1792, and 
their unhindered flow was yet, through its benign 
instrumentality, and that of the London Missionary 
Society, soon to be formed, to bless through all 
coming time the thirsty nations and the remotest 
lands. 

The mind of Thomas Stokes seemed from the 
very first to grasp with an intelligent and far- 
sighted faith the entire subject of missions, their 
imperative necessity and solemn importance, their 
practicability and prospective results. His whole 
soul was evidently enlisted, and he was ready to 



ft 



cr: zcd 

J 12 DA WN OF MODERN MISSIONS. O 

lay upon the altar his best endeavors and a gener- 
ous offering of the pecuniary gifts with which God 
had abundantly blessed him. As early as 1783, he 
speaks of a correspondence which he had carried 
on with Christians throughout the, kingdom, urging 
upon them the duty and importance of sending the 
gospel to the heathen. He also speaks of attend- 
ing meetings for prayer and consultation on the 
most efficient means for commencing and carrying 
on systematic missionary operations. These may 
be considered as some of the early missionary 
meetings which were afterwards merged into the 
stated monthly concert of prayer; and as each 
person subscribed two pounds for defraying any 
expenses incurred in prosecuting the general 
design, they may be ranked with the very earliest 
of organized missionary instrumentalities. Mr. 
Stokes regarded as an event worthy of especial 
and congratulatory notice in his journal, the estab- 
lishment of the "Evangelical Magazine" in 1793, 
to be a medium of missionary intelligence, "the 
profits of which are to be applied to the support of 
the widows and orphans of deceased ministers of 
the gospel." A complete set of this magazine, 



e 



THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 1 3 

from the beginning, is among the valuable mission- 
ary documents preserved as a part of Mr. Stokes' 
cherished effects. 

THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 

The prayer-meetings started in 1793 were favored 
with an interest so marked and increasing, that in a 
few months it was deemed advisable to hold them 
publicly, every other week. Under these auspices, 
and with the divine blessing, the mission spirit was 
fanned into a glow, of fervor; and these public 
demonstrations increased in numbers, spirit, and 
religious power, until, at length, they were super- 
seded by the missionary organization to which they 
gave birth. We presume it is to the later power 
and efficiency of these very prayer-meetings, that 
reference is made by a writer who traced, in 
1802, the immediate circumstances which led to 
the formation of the London Society, seven years 
before. He says, — 

" A number of ministers in London, together with 
some of their country brethren, held, every fortnight 
during six months, a meeting for prayer and con- 
sultation on the most effectual means of commencing 



c 

CJ 14 THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 

and carrying on a mission among the heathen. This 
led them to circulate an address to the public, in the 
f Evangelical Magazine' for January, 1795, and to send 
circular letters to ministers in each county, entreating 
their consideration of the subject ; from many of them 
were received assurances of the mdst cordial approba- 
tion, and intimations that their own minds had previously 
been led to fervent prayer for the accomplishment of the 
laudable purpose." 

The London Missionary Society was formed in 
September, 1795. Meetings were held on the 
2 1 st, 2 2d, 23d, and 24th: the first two were pre- 
liminary. Mr. Stokes speaks of attending with a 
glowing heart all the services of these memorable 
occasions. So crowded were the congregations, 
and so almost rapturous the awakened interest of 
the people, that it was firmly believed and openly 
declared, that God had surprised the century with 
" a new Pentecost of the church." Six famous 
sermons were preached during these meetings, 
copies of all of which Mr. Stokes has carefully 
preserved, bound in a tasteful volume. 

Considering the circumstances under which they 
were delivered, in the sublimity of their devotion 
to the cause of the heathen, and in the seer-like 



A 



A JUBILEE YEAR. 15 

grasp with which they took in all the magnificent 
results which were yet to follow from the feeble, 
and by many despised, beginnings of which they 
were the heralds, these sermons may be regarded 
as almost inspired. From a rare copy of the 
printed minutes of these eventful meetings, we are 
able to fill out to some degree the too brief state- 
ments of Mr. Stokes' diary. In addition to many 
items of deepest interest, we are furnished with the 
names of the great and good men who preached 
the missionary sermons, and also with the texts on 
which their discourses were respectively founded. 
We give them in the order in which they were 
preached: the Rev. Thomas Hawies, of Aldwin- 
kle, from Mark xvi. 15, 16; Rev. George Burder, 
Coventry, from Jonah iii. 2; Rev. Samuel Great- 
heed, Newport-Pagnell, from Luke x. 29 ; Rev. 
John Hey, Bristol, from Eph. i. 10; Rev. Rowland 
Hill, London, from Matt. xxiv. 14; Rev. David 
Bogue, Gosport, from Haggai i. 2. 

A JUBILEE YEAR. 

As he listened to these appeals, Mr. Stokes 
remarks that it was w with feelings of no ordinary 



9 



i6 



A JUBILEE YEAR. 



joy." He now beheld the gracious answers to 
prayers which for years had been mysteriously 
deferred; he now witnessed the joyful crowning of 
many hopes which had for a long time been cher- 
ished amid doubts and fears. Indifference to the 
cause of the heathen had passed almost entirely 
away, and inspiring songs were heard where once 
there had been but the solemn wrestling of falter- 
ing, and hence unanswered, prayer. Now were 
fulfilled the glowing prophecies of one who had 
sung anticipatory of heavenly triumphs, when 

" Hope shall change to glad fruition, 
Faith to sight, and prayer to praise." 

During the frequent and greatly prolonged ses- 
sions of public service, the churches were thronged 
with earnest and intelligent people; and when at 
times the preachers, in view of all the wondrous 
events which were transpiring about them, kindled 
with animated and contagious fervor, the pent-up 
emotions of the listening multitude could no longer 
be restrained, but found expression in mingled sobs 
and prayers and shouts of approval. The printed 
minutes above referred to confirm all the briefer 
records of Mr. Stokes' journal. They furnish the 



c 

CJ A JUBILEE YEAR. 1 7 

following impressive and characteristic incident. 
At one of the meetings a minister arose to present 
a resolution recognizing the call of God in the sum- 
mons of the church for the salvation of the heathen; 
but its passage was forestalled with such demon- 
strations of general and tender approval, that for a 
time the business of the meeting could not proceed, 
while many gave vent to their feelings in tears of 

joy- 
Says a writer describing the scene during the 

delivery of the sermon by Rev. Mr. Bogue: — 

" The whole vast body of people manifested their con- 
currence, and could scarcely refrain from one general 
shout of joy. Such a scene was perhaps never before 
beheld in our world, and afforded a glorious earnest of 
that nobler assembly where we shall meet all the re- 
deemed, and in the presence and before the throne of the 
Lamb shall sing, as in the last hymn of the service, 

' Crown him, crown him, crown him Lord of all ! ' " 

Mr. Stokes informs us, that at one of the first 
meetings held at the Castle and Falcon, the liberal 
designs of God's people were already foreshadowed 
in a collection for missionary purposes amounting 
to nearly £800, or $4,000 ! 



3 

1 8 THE FIRST MISSIONARY SHIP. b 



THE FIRST MISSIONARY SHIP. 

One of the immediate fruits of this great revival 
was the establishment of the mission to the South- 
Sea Islands. The first missionary ship," The Duff/' 
was soon fitted out, and sailed for Tahiti with 
twenty-nine missionaries on board, in September, 
1796. Mr. Stokes gives abundant evidence of his 
lively interest in this marked event, and makes 
mention of the fact that he spent on board most 
of the two last days before she sailed, and was 
among the last to leave her deck as the almost 
sacred vessel spread her sails for heathen shores, 
and left the homes and altars of Christian England 
forever behind her. 

The editor of the "Evangelical Magazine" thus 
describes the scenes connected with the departure 
of the missionaries: — 

" Though they embarked at an early hour, vast multi- 
tudes attended. The deck was crowded, many of the 
directors and friends accompanying them down the river. 
As soon as the boats which brought off the missionaries 
were removed, the sails unfurled, the noise of the ropes 
and the moving to and fro of the sailors had ceased, that 



THE FIRST MISSIONARY SHIP. 19 

beautiful hymn in the Countess of Huntingdon's collec- 
tion was sung, * Jesus, at thy command, we launch into 
the deep,' &c. The sailors in the ships on each side of 
the river, hearing the singing, stood in silent astonish- 
ment, and many serious persons on the shore waved 
their hats, bidding the dear servants of God farewell." 
" It is highly probable that, since the days of our Lord 
and his apostles, the bosom of the deep was never before 
graced with such a vessel. If a prodigy in the heavens 
above attracts universal notice, no one (we trust) will 
charge us with enthusiasm, if we express our grateful 
admiration of a sight so pleasing and unusual in the 
depths beneath. Surely the hand of the Lord hath been 
conspicuous in laying the beams of his chambers in the 
waters, and in establishing a household of faith upon 
the floods. Every serious person who has been on 
board, and seen the order which there prevails, and 
joined in the devotions there offered up, has been con- 
strained to say, like Jacob of old, 'This is none other but 
the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.' " 

The following lines commemorate the hour when 
"The Duff" was passing down the river, with the 
consecrated band onboard: — 

" Go, destined vessel, heavenly-freighted, go ! 
For, lo ! the Lord's ambassadors are there ; 
Faith sits at helm, and Hope attends the prow, 

While thousands swell thy sails with balmy prayer. 



c 

CJ 20 THE FIRST MISSIONARY SHIP. 

" Lo ! southern islanders incline the ear, 
And pause attentive to the sacred word ; 
Heralds of God, your embassy declare, 
And win obedient nations to the Lord." 

The venerable Rev. Dr. Haweis who accom- 
panied the missionaries on ship-board as far out 
the English Channel as beyond Portsmouth, thus 
graphically pictures his final parting with them: — 

ff We shook hands all round. I spoke to every brother 
a word, commending him to the keeping and care of our 
covenant God. The dear women, with tears streaming, 
wished me every blessing. The boat was waiting to 
convey me to the shore ; the evening approached ; our 
distance was considerable, but the day was beautifully 
fair. I stepped down the side of the ship, and cast 
many a mingled look of joy and reluctance behind me, 
till the ship faded from my view, and, mingling with the 
multitude of masts around her, was no longer distinctly 
visible. Early the next morning we looked out; but 
they had turned the point, and the last of the convoy 
only was seen clearing the land at St. Helens. Ye 
people of God, follow them with your prayers ! " 

Even in these latter days of missionary history 
and experience, and to those who have often wit- 
nessed the consecration and departure of mission- 



c 

A HOME IN THE WESTERN WORLD. 21 

aries to their distant and difficult fields of labor, 
these parting scenes are always thrilling with the 
sad yet inspiring eloquence of self-sacrificing, 
Christian benevolence and lofty moral heroism; 
how much more impressive and stirring must have 
been the effect upon the popular heart and mind of 
this first embarkation, — this costly and experi- 
mental advance upon the dark and gloomy hosts 
of ignorant, barbarous and treacherous idolaters ! 
We do not wonder at the universal interest which 
it evoked, or at the opposition which it received 
from the worldly and the faithless. It constituted, 
however, an epoch in the history of human redemp- 
tion which shall have its oft-recurring celebrations 
amid the heavenly eras, when the heathen shall 
have been given to Christ as his inheritance and 
the uttermost parts of the earth for a possession. 

A HOME IN THE WESTERN WORLD. 

Not long after these notable events are recorded 
by Mr. Stokes, we find him revolving the project 
of leaving his native England, and making his 
home in this western world. His decision was 
reached in the spring of 1798, when, accompanied 



J 

2 2 A CHANGE OF VIEWS. 

with his wife, child, and servants, he embarked for 
New York. As communication was not then (as 
now) by regular lines of packets and steamers, he 
was obliged to charter a vessel at his own cost. 
He arrived at New York, in June, landing at the 
Battery. 

A CHANGE OF VIEWS. 

An act of courtesy, on the part of a stranger, 
an Englishman, extended to him just as his family 
had disembarked, introduced to him, under very 
favorable circumstances, a gentleman who was a 
Baptist. The acquaintance thus formed ripened 
into a friendship, which continued while he lived, 
and was the means of bringing him into the Baptist 
denomination. He was baptized in the East River, 
in 1807, by the Rev. Charles Lahatt, pastor of the 
Bethel Baptist Church, New York City. 

When, under the efforts of the then young 
and eloquent preacher, Archibald Maclay, the 
Mulberry- street Baptist Church was gathered, 
Mr. Stokes united with that body, and was at 
once elected deacon, an office which he adorned 
until his death. 







c 

CJ BAPTIST MISSIONARY ORGANIZATIONS. 23 

BAPTIST MISSIONARY ORGANIZATIONS. 

The same zeal for missions which had character- 
ized Mr. Stokes in his native land, continued to be 
a powerful impulse with him in after life. The 
conversion of Mr. and Mrs. Judson and Luther Rice 
to Baptist views, and their application for support 
as foreign missionaries, revived the spirit of missions 
among the Baptists of America, and they at once 
entered upon the work of Christianizing the hea- 
then with a zeal which, with the favor of God, 
gave them a prominent position in the missionary 
field. 

" The General Convention," which was the first 
organization of American Baptists for the promo- 
tion of foreign missions, was formed in Philadelphia, 
May 21, 1 8 14. Mr. Stokes was present as a deeply 
interested spectator. His son, James Stokes, of 
New York City, accompanied him, and, in a letter 
recently received from him, recounts with much 
interest the incidents of that meeting, and of the 
impression made upon his mind, though then but a 
lad of some ten years of age, by the presence and 
utterances of those great and good men, — Staugh- 

cm 



fi 



24 



THE AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY. 



ton, Furman, Baldwin, and Rice. Of this organ- 
ization, whether as " Convention " or " Missionary 
Union," Thomas Stokes continued a fast friend 
until the day of his death. 

When in 182 1, in consequence 'of failing health, 
John Cauldwell, Esq., the first treasurer of the 
Baptist Missionary Convention, was compelled to 
resign, Mr. Stokes consented to undertake the 
arduous and responsible duties of the position. But 
he soon became convinced that the treasurer could 
serve the interests of the Convention much more 
effectively, were he located in Boston, its financial 
headquarters. Accordingly in 1823 he retired from 
the office, upon which occasion the Convention 
gratefully and publicly recognized the value of his 
services and the spirit in which they had been 
rendered, in a record of thanks placed upon their 
minutes. The Hon. Heman Lincoln, of Boston, 
was appointed his successor. 

FORMATION OF THE AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY. 

While Mr. Stokes' convictions as a Baptist were 
both strong and clearly defined, his large Christian 
liberalities of heart and of hand brought him into 






c 

CJ NEW YORK PEACE SOCIETY. 25 

close and warm sympathy with all the true fol- 
lowers of Christ, and especially with those who 
were most actively engaged in His service. 

Hence when in 1816 it was proposed in New- 
York City to form an organization which should 
enlist the interest and efforts of all American 
Christians in the translation and circulation of the 
word of God, without note or comment, as the 
British and Foreign Society had evoked and 
marshalled the sympathies of their English breth- 
ren in behalf of the same object, he cordially 
approved the design, and gave an unwonted, 
personal attention to the founding and subsequent 
affairs of the American Bible Society. He was a 
member of its first Board of Managers, a liberal 
contributor to its funds, and a life-long friend of 
the noble cause for which that organization has so 
long, so earnestly, and so successfully appealed. 

NEW-YORK PEACE SOCIETY. 

He was also associated with William Lacld, 
David L. Dodge, and Anson G. Phelps, as founders 
of the New- York Peace Society, with whose 
beneficent mission his spirit was ever in peculiar 



cflzf 

d 26 7V£^ YORK PEACE SOCIETY. 

and living sympathy. In his contemplations of 
the growing empire and coming triumphs of King 
Emmanuel, his soul ever seemed to drink in a new 
and a higher inspiration from the thought that " the 
weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty 
through God to the pulling down of strongholds." 
And yet Mr. Stokes belonged to that line of our 
noblest ancestors to whom the present owes a debt 
that can hardly be over-estimated, as it can never 
be repaid, — a national ancestry who made large 
and costly sacrifices in order peacefully to secure 
the religious and political liberties which form 
alike the glory and the strength of this great 
Republic. Indeed, love for these great principles, 
with a strong desire to witness their triumph and 
to enjoy their benefits, made him willing to sur- 
render the comforts and delights of his early home 
and to sever the sacred and joyous associations 
which bound him to his native land. He must be 
ranked among those quiet and conscientious but 
sturdy men, who, while they were actuated by 
a warm love for soul-liberty, and an earnest and 
honest desire that it should be universally acknowl- 
edged and respected, were also constitutionally 



THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 27 

averse to war and all angry contention. His efforts 
to promote the cause of righteous and universal 
peace were instinctive and persistent, and never 
ceased until he ceased to live. 

THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 

When in 1825 the friends of a pure and sanctified 
literature in the city of New York banded together 
in the formation of the American Tract Society, 
Mr. Stokes was found in the front rank of those 
who were relied upon to promote its success. He 
assisted in its organization and was placed upon its 
first Board of Managers. His name is inscribed 
among its earliest life-members ; and the respon- 
sible post of Chairman of the Committee on Dis- 
tribution, to which he was assigned by the Board 
at its very formation, he held until called to a 
higher position in the presence and at the summons 
of the Master. 

At the anniversary of the Tract Society held 
subsequently to the death of Mr. Stokes, his life 
and his departure were thus feelingly alluded to in 
the report of the Board: — 



/-\ 



c 



o 



& 



c 



& 



28 SOCIAL ABUSES. b 

"Mr. Thomas Stokes, a devoted friend of this Society 
from the time of its formation, and Chairman of the 
Committee on Distribution, has during the year entered 
into rest. He was engaged in those early missionary 
operations in London which gave character to the present 
century ; and until the close of his life persevered in his 
kind and Christian endeavors, cordially co-operating with 
all, of every name, who were engaged in his Master's 



SOCIAL ABUSES. 

It is still, doubtless, within the memory of many 
of the living that there was a time when, especially 
in the city of New York, and among a very 
respectable class of its people, wines and other 
intoxicating drinks were freely dispensed at 
funerals, until the custom led to many and dis- 
graceful violations of all the decorum and solemn 
proprieties of such occasions. It was also quite 
customary in those days for the pall-bearers and 
the gentlemen among the immediate mourners at 
funerals, to wear long streaming scarfs of black 
silk, or other rich and expensive material, which, 
however easily provided by the wealthy, neces- 
sitated a severe and almost ruinous tax upon those 



SOCIAL ABUSES. 29 

who could not afford them ; to which, from sheer 
fear of a false and captious public opinion, they 
were reluctantly obliged to submit. 

The quick sensibilities of Mr. Stokes were 
deeply wounded by these injurious and useless 
fashions of the society of that day; and yet owing 
to the delicate relations which these customs held 
to the hospitable entertainment of sympathizing 
friends and to the expression of sorrow for the 
dead, which is both natural and proper, as well as 
out of respect for the sensitive feelings of bereaved 
and stricken mourners, he dreaded to cope with 
evils which, confessed by all, were daily becoming 
more dangerous and excessive. But, at length, he 
courageously set himself to work, greatly favored 
in the full co-operation of General Matthew Clark- 
son, and a few other earnest, sensible men, who, 
like himself, were not only impressed with the 
necessity of a correction of these abuses, but 
were themselves ready to inaugurate a reform. 
So judiciously and successfully did they enlighten 
and organize public opinion that the evils were 
almost at once abated, and soon, in that particular 
form at least, passed entirely away. 



30 DECLINING YEARS. ^ 



DECLINING YEARS. 

After Mr. Stokes had reached his sixty-sixth 
birthday, Dec. 13, 1831, he was noticeably less 
disposed to public life and labors, and more and 
more inclined to retire from secular responsi- 
bilities and anxieties. A vivid and ever-present 
presentiment soon after seized upon his mind 
that his life's work was nearly done, and that 
death's summons would not be long deferred. He 
began calmly to set his house in order, never 
forgetful of those business preparations for dying, 
the neglect of which on his part might entail 
inconvenience or loss on those who should survive 
him. 

A short time before his death, after having finally 
arranged all his worldly affairs with the aid and 
advice of his only and tenderly loved brother, 
Judge William Armstrong Stokes, he signed the 
last paper demanding his signature, and then 
calmly remarked, " William, I shall sign the name 
of Thomas Stokes no more." From that hour he 
sought the retirement of his chamber, and much 
of the time, alone and in prayer, seemed most of 



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c 

V DECLINING YEARS. 3 1 

all wrestling to wean himself from his loved and 
loving family. While no specific form of disease 
preying upon him could be traced, it soon became 
evident to all that he was gradually sinking towards 
the grave. The atmosphere of an unseen world 
seemed to shed its sacred and peaceful light into 
the room where the good man lay, illuminating 
every feature of his venerable and benevolent 
countenance. His frame of mind was one of calm 
yet cheerful resignation, constantly illustrating the 
precious truth that they who find their joy in the 
service of Christ through life, will in d} 7 ing experi- 
ence the sweetness of His communion and the 
power of His saving presence. 

When the morning of Oct. 10, 1832, dawned, 
it was quite apparent that his last hours drew nigh. 
As the day declined and the circle of his friends 
drew 7 closer and closer around his dying-bed, the 
last accents of worship and of prayer which, as a 
fitting cadence to such a life of trust and love, fell 
from his sainted lips, were "blessed Jesus!" and 
it was difficult to tell whether these sweet words 
were the rising spirit's farewell to earth, or its first 
rapturous greeting to heaven. 



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32 THE MEMORY OF THE JUST IS BLESSED. 



THE MEMORY OF THE JUST IS BLESSED. 

The passing away of a venerable man, a patri- 
otic and public-spirited citizen, and an active and 
greatly respected Christian, could but produce a 
marked impression. His funeral was largely 
attended, and his departure from among the living 
seemed to be universally and sincerely mourned in 
the great metropolis where he was so well and so 
widely known. 

When the news of the death of Mr. Stokes 
was announced to the Board of Managers of the 
American Bible Society, they entered upon their 
records the following notice of their departed 
fellow-laborer : — 

"By ordinary visitation the Managers are called to 
notice the death of one of their number, — Mr. Thomas 
Stokes, of New York. This worthy associate had been 
a member of the Board and discharged his duties with 
great cheerfulness and acceptance from the commence- 
ment of the Society in 1816." 

At the ensuing anniversary of the American 
Baptist Missionary Union, after alluding to his 



THE LESSONS OF A LIFE. 33 O 



death, the Managers paid a brief tribute to his 
memory in the following words: — 

"Thomas Stokes, who served the Board for several 
years as their Treasurer, was an ardent friend to the 
cause of missions, and endeared himself to all his breth- 
ren by his piety, his pure integrity, and his amiable 
manners." 

Thus honorably and beautifully closed a long, 
active, and eventful Christian life, which in its first 
youthful promise had been turned from the vanities 
and short-lived pleasures of the world and conse- 
crated to the service and honor of Christ. It 
affords but another and an apt illustration of the 
real and practical value of a personal interest in 
the promises of Him who hath said, K Because 
he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I 
deliver him; . . . with long life will I satisfy him 
and show him my salvation." 

THE LESSONS OF A LIFE. 

How instructive and inspiring are the lessons 
which spring from such a career, inculcating, as 
they do, faith and a cheerful obedience in under- 
taking any commission which bears the seal of the 



c 

CJ 34 THE LESSONS OF A LIFE. 



Master's approval, no matter how small or inau- 
spicious the beginnings, or in how marked contrast 
they may stand to great and illustrious ends which 
they are designed to accomplish! 

When, less than a century ago,'under the leader- 
ship of the philanthropic printer of Gloucester, 
the recently converted Thomas Stokes, as one of 
a small band of active Christians, aided in the 
establishment of Sunday schools among the poor 
children of London, little was it dreamed that the 
enterprise so unostentatiously begun, was destined 
to grow into a complicated and powerful agency, 
whose grand and benignant results should hal- 
low every land and gladden the hearts of every 
people. 

When, a few years later, some English dis- 
senters, beginning to feel the inward leapings of a 
new and heaven-born yearning for the redemption 
of the heathen world, a small but faith-inspired 
circle of preachers, championed by the bold and 
earnest Carey, and a few zealous laymen, repre- 
sented in the intelligence and devotion of Thomas 
Stokes, set themselves to work to quicken and 
inform an insensible and careless church as to its 



THE LESSONS OF A LIFE. 35 

relations to distant and idolatrous millions, who 
then, even among the most sanguine and prophetic, 
would have dared to estimate the triumphant 
achievements of the religious faith and self- 
sacrificing heroism which these noble men were 
striving, by means so inadequate and almost in- 
significant, to rally and marshal in the name of 
Jesus? 

Since that day missionary agencies of every kind 
have been multiplied, until there is no land so dark 
or distant, until there is no isle of the ocean so 
lone or desolate, that Christian hands have not 
carried to their inhabitants the bread of life, and 
uplifted to their wondering eyes the soul-subduing 
banner of the Nazarene. 

Since then the Bible has been given, and the 
glad tidings of salvation published, in almost every 
language spoken under the whole heaven. 

Since then two millions of the heathen have 
turned from their idolatrous shrines to the altars 
of the true God; thence, as pilgrims to a heavenly 
country, they have taken " the way the holy 
prophets went," and, singing on earth for a while 
their songs of sorrow and deliverance, to-day are 



ff 




a 



THE LESSONS OF A LIFE. 



numbered with the redeemed in glory who grate- 
fully strike their harps to the new song of Moses 
and the Lamb. 

Of the wide-spreading and benign influence of 
the American Tract Society, as related to its 
comparatively small and humble beginnings, the 
Rev. Dr. Knox, when in 1846 he laid the corner- 
stone of the new Tract House, New York City, 
thus speaks : — 

" Thirty years ago there was an organization for the 
distribution of religious tracts in this city, in connection 
with which were John E. Caldwell, Zechariah Lewis, 
and others, who, like them, having served their gener- 
ation, by the will of God have fallen asleep. It was 
small and feeble. We had then a few tracts, poorly 
printed, on coarse paper, and at large expense. But it 
was the commencement of good. 

"The organization of the American Tract Society a 
little more than twenty years ago formed a new era 
in the history of the tract cause. Upon the labors of 
this institution God has put the seal of his approval. 
The judgment will reveal the multitude, by its instru- 
mentality redeemed from ignorance and error and sin, 
and converted unto God ; and the greater multitude 
guided and comforted, sanctified and cheered, in the 



THE LESSONS OF A LIFE. 37 

path of life. In this service good and holy men have 
lived and labored and died. Milnor and Page, Willett 
and Greene, Summerfield, Pierson, and Stokes, now 
shine in the firmament of glory, in the splendor of those 
who have turned many unto righteousness. 

"The institution — with the extent, variety, and excel- 
lence of its publications; its tracts and its volumes, 
every one of them teeming with vital truth ; its col- 
porters and agencies — is reaching abroad its influence 
throughout the land, throughout the world." 

And thus the accomplished results of a century 
in the history of the church the most remarkable, 
perhaps, since the apostolic age for the facility and 
energy with which it has grasped and organized 
the full idea of Christian evangelism in the employ- 
ment of instrumentalities, associational as well as 
ecclesiastic, are confessedly but the outgrowth of 
the efforts of earnest and conscientious men, who, 
in a self-denying spirit, and in a practical way, 
performed the personal, e very-day duties to which 
God called them, and did them well. 

It has always been true, and it ever will be, that 
the path of duty is the direct road to earth's best 
success and heaven's sure reward. To attempt 



c 

CJ 38 THE LESSONS OF A LIFE. 



deeds because they are conspicuously great, to 
strive for the attainment of results that will be 
deemed brilliant, without putting forth a corre- 
sponding effort of an honest and homely endeavor, 
is at best but a higher type of "ambitious vanity, 
and utterly delusive as to the achievement of 
even the cheap and unsubstantial honors of the 
world. 

I would scarcely venture to leave the sacred 
precincts of the faithful and unpretending life that 
has been thus imperfectly but lovingly sketched, 
did I not in his behalf, of whom I have written, 
disclaim all merit for what he attempted and what 
he accomplished, save that which he derived from 
Him by whose grace alone he stood, and in whose 
strength he labored to the end. My reverent love 
for the dead, whose life-form has in this brief 
Memorial been chiselled, were there no higher 
motive, would lead me, as I leave his figure in this 
modest niche, to give to his sculptured arm that 
upward inclination that would point towards 
heaven as the source of the power which had 
redeemed his soul and animated it with all its best 
and noblest inspirations. And as an inscription 



THE LESSONS OF A LIFE. 



39 



& 



surmounting the name of Thomas Stokes, which 
shall appropriately voice the sentiment of his whole 
heart and all his life, I deeply grave the inspired 
motto: — 

" J3ot unto M, © lorU ! not unto ua, out unto % 
name gioe glory." 



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